The present invention also relates to a method and an apparatus for drying solid organic feed materials to produce valuable products such as dewatered coal.
The term “organic feed materials” includes biomass, peat, coal and oil shales/sands, plastic waste materials, and also includes blends of these feed materials.
The present invention relates particularly, although by no means exclusively, to a method and an apparatus for drying and pyrolysing organic feed materials in the form of biomass and coal to produce valuable products such as oil, gas and char.
The term “biomass” is understood herein to mean living or recently living organic matter. Specific biomass products include, by way of example, forestry products (including mill residues), agricultural products, biomass produced in aquatic environments such as algae, agricultural residues such as straw, olive pits and nut shells, animal wastes, municipal and industrial residues.
The term “coal” is understood herein to include, by way of example, peat, brown coal, black coal, and a range of products referred to as “coal wastes”.
The term “oil shales” is understood herein to include by way of example any geological sedimentary material containing a usable proportion of organic molecules.